Key scripture – “[Jesus]said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward… After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored.” (Luke 6:8-10).
Did you know that faith grows as we begin to obey God.

The Bible tells us that faith is a gift from God. Faith is not something you conjure up inside yourself. Rather, it is part of God’s grace in your life that He enables you to have faith in Him. This is true of saving faith, and also true of faith in the Christian life.

The man that Jesus encountered in this scripture didn’t have the faith for his healing, but as he stretched out his hand, faith came! It was in the act of obedience that faith grew.

If you sense God leading you into something and you don’t have the faith for it, just take the first step and you will see that God will give you the faith you need for the next step, and then the one after that, and the one after that. Faith comes as we obey one step at a time.

“You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:20-24, 26).

The more you go through this process of obedience and faith, the more your faith grows. As your faith grows, your joy also grows. In the words of the old hymn: “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

This is what it means to walk by faith and not by sight. “For we live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

So go ahead and take that step of faith, you won’t regret it.

Pray this – Our Precious Heavenly Father, I want to always walk by faith and not by sight. I have learned that the more I walk by faith the less fear, worry and anxiety I have because no matter what I face right now I can look back and see all the other problems You have brought me through which ended up being a blessing to me and not destroying me. Help me to always remember that You did not remove the Red Sea, instead You opened it, and You will always help me find a way through my Red Sea. Father, you tell us that as Your righteous children we will live by faith and You take no pleasure in us shrinking back in fear. Give me the strength and power to never shine back in fear. Help me to always remember that I serve a BIG BIG GOD, Who is Elohim, the God Who created the Heavens and the earth and everything in it, and no matter how big I think my problems are, they are nothing compared to You. Jesus has already overcome the world and defeated Satan and He will defeat my problem too. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.